Passion Fruit Sorbet (& an announcement!)

The morning after we got back from vacation (which, I admit is now officially about 3 weeks ago), Eugene decided to run out to the store to pick up a few supplies for the weekend.

"Make me a list," he said, as he hopped around trying to put on a sock.

I grabbed my BlackBerry and wrote him a list of things I figured we'd need: eggs, buttermilk (for pancakes), turkey ham, salad greens, whole wheat bread, calamine lotion (for my UV rash), lemons, frozen passion fruit puree, and "anything else that looks good." I sent it to his e-mail and he glanced at it before leaving.

"Calamine lotion?"

"Just check if they have it!" I whined, scratching my incredibly itchy arms.

"And frozen passion fruit?"

"Yeah, it should be in the freezer with all the Spanish stuff." (::scratch scratch::)

He looked at me uncertainly, but grabbed the keys and headed out.

About 30 minutes later, he was back with two heavy bags. "They didn't have calamine lotion," he said as he dropped them on the floor in the kitchen.

"And what about the passion fruit?" I asked, scared to get my hopes up.

"Oh yeah," he said. "They had that. I got two different brands since I didn't know which you'd like."

At this, I quite literally jumped up with joy. "Oh BOY!!! Oh BOY! This is fantastic!"

I dug around in the bags until I found the two flat frozen packages of golden pulp. As anyone who has ever strained fresh passion fruit pulp from the fruit by the teaspoon can attest, having actual cups and cups (and cups!) of the stuff makes one feel very, very rich.

Coming home from vacation absolutely sucks. I mean there are just no other words to describe how terrible it feels to come back from a blissful week on a perfect little hot and sunny island to the melting sludge and biting wind of late winter in New York City.

But, I've learned that a healthy supply of tart and creamy passion fruit sorbet really does helps a lot. One spoonful (ok...ok...about 7 spoonfuls) of this sorbet eaten straight out of the ice cream maker, and I felt like I'd been whisked back to sunny Vieques (minus the security lines and the terrifying puddle jumper flight).

This sorbet could not be easier to make, and scoops up absolutely beautifully. It's also very affordable. About two dollars for the passion fruit puree, plus the water and sugar that you probably already have at home, will give you 4-5 cups of sorbet. Compare that with the $5 Ciao Bella and Whole Foods and everyone else charges for their tiny pints, and you've got some major savings.

So major in fact that I have no plans of EVER buying those tiny pints again! (I actually announced these intentions on Twitter the other day, much to the chagrin of the Ciao Bella twitter person who tried to convince me otherwise.)

Speaking of passion...

Most of you have already heard me blabbing on and on about this on Twitter and Facebook but in case you haven't, we have some news. Eugene and I are super happy to announce that we're engaged!!!

Awesome, huh? Eugene asked me to marry him on a Wednesday a few weeks ago under a star-filled evening sky in Vieques. It was beautiful and romantic (and actually quite funny as there was a nosy--albeit adorable--English sheepdog named Zach who absolutely insisted on sticking his face in Eugene's as he was down on his knee proposing).

Like most girls, I'd daydreamed and wondered about this moment for years, and was thrilled when it finally happened. Since then, we've been very silly and giddy about the whole thing; I have a little dance that I like to do every now and then, and we love calling each other fiance and fiancee--it doesn't get old!

You know how much I love to plan parties, so I can imagine you know how excited I am to plan our wedding and (even more importantly!) our new life together. I've only just started thinking about things and we haven't set a date yet, but we do know three things for sure. It will definitely be next winter. It will definitely be in New York. And I will DEFINITELY be making my own cake.

I plan to document the planning and ideas here (and am also open to suggestions and recommendations!), so I hope you won't mind listening in. I promise I won't go all 24/7 wedding blog on you though...that's just so not my style. ;)

Anyway darlings, wish me luck! And in the meantime...I hope you enjoy this delicious sorbet!

***Loved this recipe? Here are three other passion fruit recipes you might like:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Add in passion fruit puree and combine well. Pour into the base of your ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to an air-tight container and freeze for an additional 4 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Store in air-tight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredient Note: Frozen Passion Fruit puree can be usually be found in the freezer section of most major grocery stores or latin markets, sometimes labeled by its Spanish name "Maracuya" or "Parcha." Goya and La Fe are two major manufacturers and a package typically sells for 2-3 dollars.

28 comments:

Ah! I don't know how I missed this on Twitter, but yayyyy! Congratulations! I already know your wedding will be amazzzing and can't wait to hear about the plans as they unfold in the future. So happy for you!

Congrats again! I found it adorable when you greeted eugene's bro..."Hi future bro-in-law!" with a big smile on your face! Have lots of fun planning! I cant believe you're making the wedding cake! You must post all details about that!

Congratulations on your engagement! I love the Goya passion fruit puree - they sell it at the supermarkets near my apartment too.

I recently made guava ice cream and now I totally want to make this!

ps: If you ever want to buy other purees, Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market has a lot of different fruit purees in their freezer section at the back. They're the brands a lot of pastry kitchens in the city use and they're really good quality.

That rock is gorgeous!! Congrats again, I'm looking forward to hearing about your planning. After that fantastic 60's party you threw I'm sure your wedding is going to be the party of the century... tell me your faithful blog readers are all invited. ;)

Alejandra, how wonderful to hear! Your happiness shines right through. And your ring is classically beautiful and elegant (reminds me very much of my own engagement ring, which I received over 20 years ago). I can just imagine the immense fun you'll have planning your wedding and reception. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it through the months to come!:) Warmest wishes,Jane

P.S. And, the mango sorbet looks divine. I'm going to try and find the puree that you mentioned in this post. Hope they have it around here!

While I read through the second half of your post, it reminded me of exactly what I did. Indian weddings happen a lot different from how it is here in NY. Our parents plans and do everything, we just have to relax and enjoy. But for our wedding which was exactly 31 days ago, I planned everything in detail. It took me 4 months to finish my wedding shopping + crocheting golden flowers for my wedding saree & veil +designing & purchasing all what was needed for my flowergirls and bridesmaids :) It was a LOT of effort but very well worth it! And of course, I baked our wedding cake too, a 3 tiered buttercream one with shades of buttercream pink roses :)

And we have one more thing in common, your engagement ring, it is just a carbon copy like mine! :) I am so happy for you! I feel like re-winding our good old days when we used to call each other fiance and fiancee! :)

Aaaaannnndd now to the sorbet! i bet it was delicious to the last lick! I am a huge fan of passion fruit! :)

I can't believe I missed this on twitter! I haven't been keeping up with my fav blogs lately, but I came here today and just read this and screamed out loud! That is so exciting congratulations! And what a perfect setting I can't wait to visit Vieques I've only been to Culebra but fell in love! Can't wait to read more about your plans for your wedding.

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